Diamond is Unbreakable, Plus One
by Fenrir's Phantom
Summary: A fan of the Jojo franchise gets pulled into the Jojo world itself - with no knowledge of this part's course, plot, or arcs. Well, at least he got a Stand out of it...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! Sorry I've been away for so long, but when one has writer's block on all fronts... well, making a new story seems to help me get past it!**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

 **Edit: I rewrote this chapter a bit, mostly because I wasn't a fan of how I started this. So, I started over.**

* * *

My otaku of a friend eagerly welcomed me into his apartment, herding me towards the couch while the timer on the microwave went off. I sat down as he rushed over to it to take out the finished popcorn and put in another bag.

"So, we're going to binge the weekend away again?" I asked with a smirk.

"You know it!" He laughed as he turned the microwave back on and brought a huge bucket of popcorn over, setting it down on the table in front of us.

"Alright... Diamond is Unbreakable this time, right?"

"What, you think I'd make you watch Battle Tendency again?"

"Well, after last time..."

"Hey, I thought we agreed never to talk about that again!"

We glared at each other for all of thirty seconds before bursting out laughing. It took a minute before I was able to talk again without wheezing.

"Alright, just... just put it in and let's get to the binging already." I said as I wiped tears from my eyes.

My friend, still laughing, did so and hit the play button before sitting down beside me.

The intro to the series began to play, before rapidly dissolving into static and randomly-colored pixels. I frowned and stood up.

"Did you get a dodgy copy from some guy in an alley again?"

"Hell no, I got this online! Completely fresh; opened it myself!"

"Well, maybe the player is acting up again..."

I leaned down to try and inspect the device before an arm, made of varying shades of grey, rushed out of the TV screen and grabbed the front of my shirt.

"What the f-" was all I had time to yell before I was yanked forwards... and _through_ the screen.

* * *

" _Hey, I think he's waking up!_ "

" _Cool! The boss isn't dead after all!_ "

" _Hooray!_ "

Those were the voices I awoke to; my vision swam in and out of focus, my head spinning as I tried to focus on something, anything.

" _Just take it easy, boss._ "

" _The dizziness should stop soon._ "

" _Hopefully._ "

The voices again; they sounded... sort of like a recording of my own voice, if muffled a bit by metallic ringing. I couldn't help but imagine Alphonse from FMA; his voice had the same qualities.

The alley - because that's where I was, apparently - slowly stopped spinning, allowing me to finally stand up.

" _Here, let us help you with that._ "

A cold, firm hand held my shoulder and helped steady me until the dizziness had fully passed. Once the urge to vomit had passed, I turned to look at the ones who had helped me.

I found myself staring at a steel helmet, the pointed visor shaped like the beak of some bird of prey. The shoulders, arms, and knuckles were decorated with short, studded spikes.

It was also worth mentioning that the entire armor was _empty_.

" _You alright there, boss?_ " It asked, its voice still ringing metallically.

"Wha... What the hell?!" I yelped, brushing its hand off my shoulder and backing up against the alley wall. The armor seemed to stare for a moment before abruptly laughing.

" _Sorry, where are our manners?_ " It spoke, giving me a salute. " _Nerves of Steel, reporting for duty, boss!_ "

"I've gone crazy, that's the only explanation for this..." I muttered to myself.

" _Nope!_ " This 'Nerves of Steel' responded chipperly, still saluting. " _You're still sane... er, well, not any crazier than you usually are, anyway._ "

"There's still no way this is real... this has to be a dream..."

The armor seemed to consider for a moment before reaching out and flicking my forehead with its metal finger. While I yelped indignantly at the pain, it tilted its head. " _Believe us now?_ "

I froze as I realized what it was hinting at. If I felt pain... this had to be real. Not a dream, but real life.

I turned and ran down the alleyway, Nerves of Steel calmly following me as I rushed out onto the street and looked around. It didn't take me long to discover a map of my surroundings, at a kiosk near what looked to be the town square.

The town I was currently in?

Morioh.

Holy. Shit.

* * *

It took me quite a while to adjust to this new existence of mine. Especially with the revelation I know had a Stand in the form of a suit of armor... with each and every single piece containing its own mind, apparently. Certainly explained the plurals it always used when describing itself.

I was lucky enough to cut a deal with a local restaurant owner; I work in the restaurant as a dishwasher and busboy, in return the owner lets me stay in the attic he'd renovated for me. I was more than thankful for his kindness - though I was a little worried when he demonstrated how _strict_ he could be when it came to kitchen etiquette. I'd made sure to wash my hands every time I passed the sink, even if I just so happened to be walking through, after the first time he went off on me.

I mostly just worked evenings, though, as the owner was nice enough to understand that I'd likely be out exploring the town - I was playing the 'drifter looking for a home' card for all it was worth; I made up for this kindness by making sure I didn't slack off during my work hours.

Having an extra set of hands in Nerves of Steel was quite useful, though I did my best to try and hide its presence from the owner's gaze. I didn't really want to explain why floating plates were cleaning themselves.

During my free time away from work, I did my best to look for answers as to how and why I came here. Unfortunately enough, my searches didn't seem to be turning anything up.

It was during one of these searches, however, I had my first encounter with the Joestar family.

* * *

 **For those of you wondering about Nerves of Steel's stats:**

 **Power: C**

 **Speed: B**

 **Range: C**

 **Durability: B**

 **Precision: C**

 **Potential: D**

 **Abilities: Self-Assembly and Self-Disassembly**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, the first chapter was mainly setup. Hopefully this chapter will be better, since the story will finally start kicking off.**

* * *

It was a rainy day when I saw a heavily built man running down the empty street before abruptly tripping, sliding across the wet pavement on his chest for a surprising distance before coming to a stop.

I went over to help him up, wondering why he was running in the rain like that; I got my answer when he wrapped a strong arm around my neck, turning me so I was between him... and Josuke Higashikata and Jotaro Kujo.

Okay, he was fighting the heroes and is taking me hostage; looks like he was a villain. Good to know, now I wouldn't feel guilty.

"You're not gonna kill me, right?!" The man demanded as the two came to a stop, glaring at the man holding me hostage. "Sure, I'm an escaped death row inmate. But just because I was found guilty by Japanese law, doesn't mean you guys have the right to judge me! Josuke! I killed your grandpa, but you have no right to kill me!"

"Well now... we beg to differ." I spoke up, looking over my shoulder at him. "Isn't that right, guys?"

 _"Absolutely right, boss!"_ Every last piece of Nerves of Steel declared as they constructed themselves into humanoid form, causing the hostage-taker's eyes to go wide before a steel fist met his face.

He let go of me as he stumbled back, clutching his clearly-broken nose with a scream as he leaned against a rock for support. Josuke glanced at me before refocusing on the inmate; Jotaro, however, gave me a long, calculating look before doing the same.

The inmate growled angrily at us all.

"Grr... you bastards!" He spat, pointing a finger. "Don't you realize? If you kill me, you'll end up a cursed soul, just like me!"

A moment later, a pink-and-blue fist shot out of Josuke's body, smashing the man's hand backwards into the rock behind him, shattering both the hand and part of the stone.

"Don't go telling people what they can and can't do." Josuke responded coolly, staring at him.

"M-m-my right hand! My hand!" the man cried out as he lifted his hand... which had somehow fused with the rock it had broken off. I gave Josuke a sidelong glance; what sort of power did his Stand have if it could do something like that?

"No-one's going to execute you. Not me, not Jotaro, and not this guy over here." He continued, pointing a thumb at both Jotaro and I.

 _"Despite how much I want to..."_ I added under my breath, crossing my arms as Nerves of Steel faded away.

"You're not going to be executed, and you're not going back to jail."

"Josuke, I leave the rest to you." Jotaro spoke, closing his eyes and pulling the brim of his hat down a bit.

"Wh-what do you plan to do to me, you bastards?!" The man cowered.

"Repent for eternity, Angelo! For all those you killed, _including my Gramps!_ " Josuke declared before his Stand opened up with a barrage of punches worthy of Star Platinum.

The man - Angelo, apparently - was pounded into the rock, over and over and over again, as a strange glow began to surround it all. When it faded, I found myself staring at Angelo's face and the tips of his fingers, the rest of him fused with the stone.

"You're gonna live forever in the city my Gramps protected."

"D-damn it!" Angelo gasped from within the rock. "Don't you dare get cocky! I'm sure he'll kill you all for me!"

"Wait, 'He'? What 'He'?" I asked, curious.

"That's right. The one wearing the school uniform, who gave me this power!"

"What?" Jotaro asked, stiffening. "It can't be... are you saying someone can willingly give another a Stand?"

"Are you scared?" Angelo asked, giving a few pained chuckles.

"Huh? How is that supposed to scare us?" Josuke asked accusingly.

"No, Angelo's not a Stand user by birth." Jotaro began, seemingly having forgotten about my presence. "It was a mystery how he obtained his Stand powers. But if there is actually a person who can give others Stands..."

"Major problem, I assume?" I asked.

"Terrifying, isn't it?" Angelo chuckled again. "Want me to tell you? It was last year, so 1998..."

He continued monologuing as I took that information in. I was born in February of 1998, out in New Jersey. It was 2017 when I got dragged into that TV... huh. Well, different world / dimension, different passage of time, I guess. Either that or DIO's time-stopping abilities slowed down this place's aging compared to the rest. Hmm, now there was a thought...

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a scream. Turning, I saw what appeared to be a rubber glove attacking a little kid, trying to force its way into his mouth.

"What the fuck!" I yelped as I summoned Nerves of Steel again to try and pry the thing off.

"You fools!" Angelo gleefully gloated from inside the stone. "It looks like you were so busy listening to my story that you completely forgot about my Aqua Necklace!"

"Angelo, you bastard!" Jotaro rumbled, turning around to face him again.

"Josuke! Hurry up and get me out of this rock!" Angelo loudly demanded as Nerves of Steel wrestled with the squirming glove. Josuke, however...

Calmly pulled out a comb and began to groom his wet pompadour.

"It would appear that... I didn't have enough rage in my heart for you."

"What are you doing!?" Angelo raged. "Stop messing with your stupid hair! I'm gonna kill this brat! Let me out of here right now!"

The comb promptly froze as Josuke took those words in, Jotaro stiffening beside him. Josuke's expression contorted into one I found myself instinctively afraid of.

"What did you say..."

"Don't be rash, Josuke!" Jotaro yelled, trying to talk sense into the delinquent.

"... _About my hair?!_ "

"Y-you know if you kill me, the guy in the school uniform won't let it slide! He lives in this town, too!" Angelo all but begged, seemingly realizing he crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.

"What? Josuke, wait!" Jotaro ordered... but the delinquent didn't listen, finally rounding on Angelo and unleashing another barrage of punches from his Stand, shattering all of Angelo's visible bits and the stone he was fused with.

I watched in fascination as it began to fuse back together, eventually forming into what looked like some sort of mockery of Angelo's face set in stone.

The rubber glove, meanwhile, flew off the kid's neck and out of Nerves of Steel's grasp, hovering in the air for a second before dropping to the ground, apparently dead.

"Yeah... I just didn't have enough rage earlier." Josuke said to himself, reaching up to comb his hair again. "I needed to do a great job of burying that asshole in the rock, like this."

The kid ran off, bawling tears of fear - he had no idea what the hell had just happened, after all, it was understandable. It's not every day a random rubber glove tries to strangle you.

"Good grief... I wanted to get more out of him."

"Huh? You actually believe the crap he was saying?" Josuke asked incredulously.

"It wasn't crap. He said DIO's name."

"Who is that, anyway?"

"He's a man that the Joestar family has been fighting for over a hundred years." Jotaro explained, seemingly forgetting I was standing right behind him. "My friends and I fought DIO and defeated him. But there was one thing I didn't understand."

He turned to face the new Angelo-stone.

"Back in 1987, why did the man called DIO suddenly acquire a Stand?"

"Could the same person have made him a Stand user?"

"Yeah... they guy in the school uniform might be out new enemy. As for _you..._ "

His gaze slid to me, intense enough to make me want to step back.

"Who are you, and how did you acquire that Stand of yours?"

"M-me?" I stuttered, my brain and heart racing. "My name is Dan... I arrived in Morioh just over two weeks ago from America. As for Nerves of Steel here... if I'm honest, it just appeared one day. I have no idea how or why, but there it was."

Jotaro kept me fixated with that look of his before closing his eyes. "Good grief... at least the threat Angelo posed is dealt with. But now we've got this man in the school uniform to worry about."

* * *

 **Fun fact: when Angelo got pierced by the Stand arrow, it went straight through him and into the wall behind his head. If you pause his monologue at just the right moment, when Keicho is about to pull out the arrow, you can see the tip buried in the wall. It's a little hard to see, but it's there.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello yet again! The reason these chapters are coming out so fast is because... well, I'm very invested in this story, and I don't want to get distracted and leave you guys hanging again.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Huh? Koichi, you're even studying after school?" Josuke asked the short freshman, standing in the doorway of the library. I stood right behind him, having met up with him once school let out. We'd waited a little bit before going in to look for the little guy; Josuke had wanted to introduce me to him. "C'mon, let's go home!"

"O-oh, right." He stuttered a little bit with a smile. He swiftly packed his stuff, though he paused when he noticed me. "Eh? Who're you?"

"Call me Dan." I said with a smile of my own. "I met Josuke here just the other day."

I admit, I used Nerves of Steel to eavesdrop on Josuke and Jotaro after Angelo was dealt with. Jotaro was slightly suspicious of me - after all, what are the odds a Stand user would show up during the fight against Angelo? - and had told Josuke to keep an eye on me. While a little disappointed that they didn't trust me, I had to admit that a Stand user randomly showing up at that point in the fight was rather odd. Still, I had resolved to show them all I was trustworthy.

"Hey there." Koichi said, shaking my hand. "I don't think I've seen you around school?"

"Nah, I've already graduated from high school back in America." I chuckled. "I'm technically on a gap year before I start college."

Koichi seemed interested as we all began to walk and talk, getting to know each other. As we eventually neared Josuke's house, we passed by the rock he had trapped the murderous milkman inside.

"Yo, Angelo." Josuke spoke up, giving the rock a small salute as he walked past, not even looking at it.

"Huh? Hey, was this rock always here?"

"Yep; always was." I chuckled. "Then some jokers went and carved it up, so now it looks like this."

"Really? Huh. Well, whatever. Yo, Angelo!" He said, giving the strange-looking rock a salute, like Josuke. I did the same, a mocking smirk on my face.

"By the way, what happened to Jotaro?" The little guy asked as we began walking again.

"Oh, he said he had something he wanted to look into." Josuke responded, giving him a glance. "He's staying at the Grand Hotel."

"Does it have to do with this city?"

"I'm sure it does."

"Or maybe he's just taking a vacation." I joked.

We walked through a decorative stone arch covering the sidewalk; not sure why it was there, but eh, I'm not the one who made Morioh, nor was I an architect - who was I to judge its construction?

As I was walking behind Koichi, I nearly bumped right into him when he paused, staring up at one of the windows of the dilapidated house we were passing.

"Something wrong?" I asked, following his gaze to one of the empty windows on the second floor.

"Uh... Josuke? Nobody's lived in this house for three or four years, right?"

"Yeah, it's so run down that it'd be impossible to sell." Josuke replied, glancing up at the window as well before beginning to walk again. "It should be torn down and rebuilt."

"No, someone's living here. Maybe someone moved in? There was someone in the window just now."

"To this place? Are you sure?" I asked; I hadn't seen any signs of habitation...

"That can't be. My house is just over there, right? I'd know right away if someone tried to move in." Josuke asked, pointing. "Besides, realtors are always checking to make sure homeless people don't crash there."

"Now that you mention it, that's true..." Koichi admitted. "How strange... wonder if I actually saw a ghost..."

He moved closer to the gate, which held a sign that said 'No Trespassing.'

"H-hey, don't say stuff like that!" Josuke stuttered. "Ghosts are scary! And we're right in front of my house."

"What, big bad Josuke Higashikata is scared of a few little ghosts?" I teased.

My laughter was cut short by a _clang_ , and Koichi's strangled cry of pain. We both whipped around to see a tall figure, dressed in a school uniform with the word 'Billion' running down his left arm, while the right held the kanji for the word. Money signs decorated the front of his shirt, and two lines, looking a bit like parenthesis, ran across his face, almost intersecting each other on the bridge of his nose. His foot was currently pressing against one side of the metal gate, closing it shut in Koichi's neck as the freshman gasped for air.

"Stop gawking at my house, little brat." He growled with a cruel smirk, pressing harder. "Come on, say something!"

"Koichi! Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"What? That's my line." The guy said, not moving an inch. "You two are in front of my house."

"You bastard!" I growled, clenching my fists as I prepared to summon Nerves of Steel. "Let him go, right now, and you _may_ live!"

"My father bought this house." The guy said, smirking at us. "Don't go digging around here. Never do it again!"

"We're telling you to let go of him, bastard." Josuke told him in a surprisingly even tone. "If you don't let him go now, I might get pissed off."

"I already am!" I growled, my nails digging into my palms.

"Come on, now. 'Bastard' is a bit much, ain't it?" The guy asked with another smirk, pointing a finger at us. "Calling someone you just met a bastard right in front of their house..."

"I'd say it's plenty justified, in this case! Now let him. The fuck. Go!" I ordered.

"Buddy, do you even know how to talk to people?" He mockingly asked me.

"Well, I know how to shut up that stupid mouth of yours." Josuke told him, getting ready to fight.

There was a tiny glint of light from the window above, followed by something streaking out of the darkness. My eyes widened as I took in the arrow sticking out of Koichi's throat.

"What?!" Josuke gasped, his eyes wide as Koichi coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Bro?!" The guy called out, turning around to look up at the window.

"Do you wanna know why I shot him with the arrow?" Another figure, this one shrouded in the darkness of the house, asked. "Because that guy with the pompadour is Josuke Higashikata, and the guy next to him is Dan."

"Oh, really? They are?" The first guy asked eagerly, turning to us with a feral smile.

"Since Josuke defeated Angelo, that means he's a Stand user who'll be trouble for us, too. And Dan was able to escape Angelo's grasp, meaning he's a slippery one - and we can't let him tell anyone else about us."

"A Stand user? You guys are Stand users?!" Josuke demanded.

"Great - that means I won't have to hold back!" I growled as Nerves of Steel finally appeared, rapidly constructing itself beside me.

"Okuyasu! Make these two disappear!" The shadowy figure ordered his brother.

The gate swung open, releasing Koichi, who slumped to the ground like a puppet without its strings. His eyes had rolled back into his skull, and a stream of blood leaked from the side of his mouth and his wound, where the arrow still protruded. His body twitched occasionally, showing he was still alive... though for how much longer, I wasn't sure.

"Hmph. I was hoping I could make him into a Stand user that I could use like the others, but I guess that's not happening. He's gonna die."

"You fucker!" I roared, sending Nerves of Steel flying at Okuyasu - only for a blue and white arm to slap my Stand aside like it was nothing. I stumbled a bit, the blow transferring to me, but thanks to Nerves of Steel's insane durability, I didn't take any damage.

"Dan! Damnit... move!" Josuke ordered. "I can still heal his wounds with my Crazy Diamond!"

Okuyasu just grinned. "No."

With that, his Stand made a full appearance, standing just behind its user as it stared at us blankly. My eyes were drawn to its right hand - with that odd pattern and the strange vibes I was getting from it, something was definitely off.

"Dan, and Josuke Higashikata! I, Okuyasu Nijimura, will make you disappear with my The Hand!"

 _"I don't like this, boss."_ Nerves of Steel spoke up.

"Me neither, but we've gotta get Koichi back! Go get him!"

The empty armor shot forward, separating into all its constituent pieces as The Hand took a swing at it. They began to reform before The Hand attempted to make a swiping motion with its right hand.

My eyes widened as I saw the trail it left behind; I don't know what the hell sort of power that was, but I was absolutely sure I didn't want it touching me! Nerves of Steel broke apart again, shooting back to my side and rebuilding itself yet again as the trail the swipe had left behind abruptly vanished, creating a small wind.

"What the hell was that?"

I watched as Okuyasu scowled at me before The Hand took a swipe at Josuke's head - only for Crazy Diamond's fist to smash into its face, interrupting its attack and causing Okuyasu's head to snap to the side as the damage transferred to him.

"If you don't move, I'm seriously going to mess up your face." Josuke growled. Okuyasu turned back to us, wiping a little bit of blood off his face.

"Heh... you're pretty fast. Even faster than that hunk of junk over there."

 _"Hey!"_ I protested alongside my Stand.

"Hey, Okuyasu." The shadow-hidden brother began, my gaze snapping to him as Okuyasu turned. "Using a Stand is the same as driving a car or riding a bike. Dipshits with no skill or guts will get scared and maneuver like crap, no matter what kind of monster machine they ride."

"Bro..." Okuyasu warned. "Don't say things that'll piss me off too much. They're both much faster than I thought, Josuke especially."

"We're not messing around here, Okuyasu!" His brother suddenly roared. "The Stand that you acquired, The Hand, gives me chills just thinking about it! You'd better be serious when you use it! Make sure you kill Josuke and Dan, no matter what! They're bound to get in our way, otherwise!"

"I know-" Okuyasu began as he turned back to me... and noticed Josuke was standing behind him the same moment I did. Damnit! I got distracted by their conversation! I missed my chance! "H-hey! I was talking! That's not fair!"

"You're pretty stupid, aren't you?"

"What? Why?" Okuyasu asked a moment before being sent flying by Crazy Diamond, right toward me. I smirked before I had Nerves of Steel separate, then had each and every piece divebomb and smash him into the ground.

"I told you to move." was Josuke's answer to his question as he continued walking. His expression shifted to one of concern as he knelt down by Koichi's body. "Thank goodness, you're still alive. Then I can still save-"

"Josuke! Watch it!" I yelled a warning as Okuyasu charged out of the dust cloud my Stand had kicked up in attacking him.

"You're gonna pay for that!" He yelled as The Hand formed behind him again.

"I told you to move!" Josuke yelled at him, summoning Crazy Diamond back to the battlefield. "Get any closer and you'll really piss me off!"

"Take your best shot, if you can!" Okuyasu yelled as The Hand took another swipe with that right hand of its. Crazy Diamond attempted to intercept with a punch before abruptly stopping the attack and catching the arm, the hand just a few inches from its face. They held the deadlock for a few seconds as Nerves of Steel began to reform itself again before The Hand drove its knee into Crazy Diamond's abdomen, causing Josuke to cough up a little blood.

"Let go of my right hand, you little shit!" Okuyasu yelled, The Hand launching several punches at various parts of Crazy Diamond's body with its free hand, the punch to the face finally forcing Josuke to let go just as my living armor dove for our assailant's exposed back. The Hand whipped around and swung its right hand at it, managing to clip the pinkie finger on its left hand as it scattered yet again to dodge.

I screamed in pain as my left pinkie vanished, grabbing my hand in an attempt to stifle the strong flow of blood. Meanwhile, The Hand took another swipe at a collapsed Josuke, who managed to roll out of the way in time and left The Hand to strike part of the metal gate.

Josuke rolled to his feet beside me, Crazy Diamond appearing in an attempt to fix the damage as he stared at Okuyasu. A warm glow surrounded my hand as the bleeding stopped, the skin coming together to seal itself up - though my finger didn't reappear. Looks like it was gone for good. Still, at least I wouldn't be distracted by the pain anymore, I thought to myself as I clenched my hand together a few times. It felt really weird to be missing a finger like that now...

"Why, you..." Okuyasu growled, looking over at us. "Don't you dare run away, you bastards! Don't abandon your friend like that!"

"There's definitely something up with that right hand of yours." He growled, glancing at my hand before looking back at the gate behind our opponent... which suddenly seemed a bit off, now that I looked at it again.

"Think about that after you're dead!" Okuyasu yelled. "Here I go!"

For every step Okuyasu took towards us, we both took a step back; it didn't take long for our backs to be pressed up against the wall.

"Stop walking backwards, dumbasses." He growled As The Hand's right hand appeared over his shoulder. "Aren't you getting farther away from your buddy? Come a little closer!"

"I bet your Stand's right hand Scraped the 'tres' off that gate!" Josuke accused, pointing a finger at it. Looking at the gate, I saw he was right. Before, it said 'no trespassing' - now it just read 'no passing'. "It has the power to scrape away its surroundings!"

Okuyasu smirked. "That's right, Josuke Higashikata!" He crowed. "Whatever this right hand grabs gets scraped away. And the parts that don't get scraped away..." He slapped his hands together, as if he were praying. "...close together, so it's like nothing changed! As for the part that gets scraped away..." He shrugged. "Even _I_ don't know where it ends up!"

Josuke and I edged to different sides of him, me to his left, and Josuke to his right. If we could flank him, we could probably take him out without losing any more body parts. Okuyasu just smirked.

"I can do this to guys who try to run away, too!" He said as The Hand swiped its right hand through the space between him and me, creating another void. "I scrap away the space between us! And then..."

A wind began to kick up, first drawing small objects like leaves and cans toward him - before Josuke was suddenly standing directly in front of him. The delinquent's eyes widened as Okuyasu wound up a punch.

"See? You came right to me. You could call it teleporting!"

The Hand swiped again, this time drawing me towards him as Josuke was sent stumbling back before he whacked me as well. He began ping-ponging us back and forth, drawing one in, hitting him while drawing in the other, hit them while drawing in the first, rinse and repeat. It was all happening so fast, I couldn't focus enough to pull out Nerves of Steel to protect me.

"This is the power that even my bro fears, The Hand! You can't run away anymore!" He cackled. "No matter where you go, you're always within my reach!"

It didn't take long for him to finally lay us out, temporarily stopping the beatings.

"So weak!" He insulted with a laugh. "You really beat Angelo like this?"

I propped myself up against the wall as Josuke got back to his feet, walking a bit to the right. Okuyasu scowled.

"I guess you just don't get that it's no use. You're the one who's stupid! Now die, Josuke!"

He drew Josuke back in close, The Hand rearing up to swipe again and erase Josuke from existence.

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Josuke calmly asked as three flowerpots flew off the wall I was leaning against flew toward the two of them, the delinquent ducking underneath them and letting them slam into Okuyasu.

He straightened up again, looking down at his foe. "That was close. Okuyasu Nijimura, huh? That's a pretty great and terrifying Stand."

He glanced back at me and my bruises before looking back down at the dumb brother.

"Well, we'll be in trouble if he tries to attack. Guess I should strangle him a bit, to make sure he stays knocked out." He began to bend down toward the guy before I spoke up.

"H-hey! Koichi's body!"

Indeed, our little friend's buddy's body had apparently up and vanished, a thin trail of blood leading to the now-open door.

I stumbled over to him as he stood back up.

"That's enough, you bastard!" He called out even as Crazy Diamond moved to heal my injuries. We both moved to the doorway, staring down the other Nijimura brother as he paused in dragging away Koichi's body.

"This arrow is very precious." He said slowly and calmly as he reached down toward the projectile. "It's the only one there is. It's my precious objective." He leaned out of the shadows, finally revealing his face. "I just _have_ to retrieve it."

We stared each other down, each side ready to make a move at a moment's notice.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger, ha-hah!**

 **Anyway, another chapter down!** **Please, let me know what you think!**

 **Also, if anyone is interested: I found both a Stand Generator, and a Stand Graph Generator! Let me know if you want the links.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four, and episode four! Let's go!**

 **By the way, what sort of Stand do you think you would have if you developed one? I'm curious to hear your ideas.**

* * *

We stared each other down, either side ready to move at a moment's notice. The blonde Nijimura brother slowly reached down and grabbed hold of the shaft of the arrow.

"Don't you dare pull that arrow out!" Josuke yelled. "That'll just make him bleed more!"

The blonde man paused. "Because my brother is an idiot, I have to kill you now. Which means It won't be good if something happens to this arrow. If the lady next door sees it, or it snaps in half, that'd be bad news. I'm a very methodical type, you see, so I want to make sure the arrow is put away properly."

My eyes scanned the darkness as he talked; I could have sworn I'd seen a glint of light or something further down the hall...

"When you're listening to CDs, you probably put the first one away in its case before listening to the second one, right? Everyone's like that." He gripped the shaft tighter. "I'm like that too." He said casually before ripping the arrow out of Koichi's throat, causing the short freshman to cough up even more blood.

Josuke shot forward as I sent in Nerves of Steel, both of us trying to stop this maniac and get Koichi back.

"Oh? You're gonna come into this house?"

"Think before you speak! If I don't come in, I can't kick your ass and treat Koichi's wounds!"

I didn't get a word out before Okuyasu appeared behind me, wrapping an arm around my throat like Angelo had.

"Bro! I haven't lost yet! Hold off on attacking him!" His grip tightened. "We ain't finished yet!"

A bunch of glittering lights lit up in the darkness of the ceiling, catching both my eye and Josuke's. Josuke promptly dove to the side... and exposed me and Okuyasu.

I froze as the attack peppered both me and Okuyasu with holes as Nerves of Steel faded, a series of tiny dents littering its front. The pain... so much pain... I couldn't even describe it.

My body just gave out as I hit the floor, drifting off into the darkness...

* * *

I gasped and sat straight up, almost smacking my head into Josuke's. The delinquent backed off a bit, Crazy Diamond fading from view.

"Thank god, you're alive."

"Thank god, I'm alive!" I gasped before pausing to consider Josuke's words. I couldn't help but snort in laughter a bit; the only way that could have been better is if he'd said 'Your next line will be...'

I turned to say something to Josuke, but whatever it was was lost to me when I saw Okuyasu's hole-ridden face.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I hissed in anger. Josuke didn't answer me directly, instead turning to face our wounded foe.

"So... how about you tell us about your brother's Stand?"

When Okuyasu stayed silent, Josuke grabbed his lapels and began shaking him.

"Come on, tell me what his Stand really is! If you tell me, I'll treat your wounds!"

"Like hell... I'm gonna tell you... dumbass..." The injured student choked out, blood still seeping from his wounds.

"As I thought..." Josuke sighed.

"Are you surprised?" I asked bitterly, glaring down at Okuyasu.

Josuke slammed him back into the ground before standing up again, summoning Crazy Diamond. "Well then... guess I have no choice!"

The pink and blue Stand reared up before thrusting its hand down toward the student as I smirked - comeuppance was always sweet.

To my surprise, however, he didn't smash his face in - instead, he healed his wounds!

"What the hell?!" I demanded, shoving Josuke back. "He's an enemy, why the fuck would you heal him?!"

Josuke just brushed past me, heading back toward the door. "I'm going in there again, so just don't get in my way, Okuyasu." He turned to look back at us. "Koichi doesn't have much time!"

I growled in annoyance before rounding on Okuyasu. "Stay out of this, bastard, or I'll mess you up even more than your brother did."

We peeked inside the doorway, scanning the darkness for any movement. Going inside was dangerous, of that we were sure - but it was also the only way to save Koichi.

Our journey inside was brought to a halt, however, when Okuyasu yelled after us.

"Hey, wait a minute! Josuke... why did you heal my wounds?"

"To be honest, I'd like to know that too." I added. "But I'm willing to wait for an answer."

"I'll tell you both later." Josuke waved us off.

"I might attack you! I'm your enemy!"

"You think I haven't noticed?!" I hissed, holding up my left hand to show off my missing pinkie.

"You want a piece of me?" Josuke asked calmly.

"After I hear your answer! Why did you heal me?! I'm not very smart, so you'll have to tell me! And that wound on your hand!"

He pointed, drawing my attention to Josuke's blood-covered hand - when had that happened?

"You got that when you were pulling us outside, didn't you?"

Oh. That's when.

"I want to know why you went through all that to save me."

Josuke turned back around to face away from him. "There was no deep reason. 'There's no reason he has to die.' That's what I thought back there."

I stared after him for a minute before glancing at Okuyasu. He caught my eye before I huffed and followed after the protagonist.

Entering the house, we pressed ourselves up against the wall as we progressed down the hallway, hoping to avoid another attack as Josuke bandaged his hand. I peeked around the corner as he did that, eyes on the trail of blood.

"It leads upstairs." I whispered to him.

We ascended slowly, warily keeping an eye out for any more attacks from the shadows. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Okuyasu appeared behind us.

"Hey! I still have more questions!" He yelled.

" _Sssshhhhhhh, shut the fuck up!_ " I hissed at him, fully prepared to break his nose if he startled me like that again. Or maybe I'd do it just because...

"What is your problem?!" Josuke demanded. "I'm begging you, just let me save Koichi!"

"Why?" Okuyasu demanded back, pointing a finger. "Why don't you use your Stand's power to fix your hand?! You should just fix it up like you did my face!"

I kept looking around warily as Josuke explained how Crazy Diamond couldn't heal its user - for all I knew, this jerkoff could be setting us up for an ambush from his brother!

"Let me say just one thing, Okuyasu: if Koichi dies, I don't know what I'll do to your brother. So don't hold it against me; it was your brother who caused all this trouble."

"If Koichi dies, I'm gonna tear the whole house down." I growled. "I can promise you that. I'm actively fighting the urge to do that right now."

We continued on our way, leaving Okuyasu standing there at the bottom of the stairs.

I peeked around first, being ahead of Josuke. "The trail leads into the room over there." I pointed.

We moved closer and crouched down on either side of the doorway. Josuke peeked around the corner first, followed by me.

Koichi lay, limp as a wet noodle, in the back of the room. This room, however, straight-up screamed _'_ _ambush'_ to me - after all, why would his body be left here? And just far enough outside of Nerves of Steel's range that I would have to enter the room to grab him? Josuke was even worse, since his range was basically right beside him. If he wanted to heal the little guy, either he would have to enter the room, or I would. And we would have to do it soon - otherwise, Koichi would bleed out.

I steeled myself and prepared to walk inside... only for Okuyasu's arm to circle around my throat as The Hand grabbed hold of Josuke, ready to erase space.

"What?!"

"You fucker!" I hissed.

 _"Let the boss go, you bastard!"_

Before the sentient armor could throw a punch, The Hand's right hand came down... and teleported Koichi's body to Josuke. I blinked in astonishment, doubly so when the fucker let me go.

"K... Koichi just..."

"Because I'm stupid, I just act on what's in my heart." He turned to walk away before looking back at Josuke. "Just once - just this once! - I'll repay my debt to you. I won't do anything else. I won't help out my bro, or do anything to either of you." He turned and finally began walking. "This is it."

Josuke smirked. "That's just great, Okuyasu."

Nerves and I stared after him. Hmm... maybe he's not as bad as I assumed... still didn't mean I fully trusted him, though.

He was quick to heal the hole in Koichi's throat, color beginning to return to his skin as his blood was replenished. He gasped as breath filled his lungs, his eyes flying wide.

"He lives!" I said with a smile, even as I glanced at the surrounding darkness.

"Hey, you were in great danger, Koichi." Josuke explained, smiling down at him. "Glad you came to. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"F-five." Koichi responded, rubbing his formerly-punctured neck. "I... I got my head trapped between the gates, and then... um... uh..."

"Don't worry about it - right now, we should worry about getting out of here." I spoke up.

"W-wait, where are we?"

"That dangerous situation we were in earlier isn't over yet, Koichi. I want to go down those stairs and out the front door, but I wonder if Okuyasu's brother will let us do that safely..."

I silently cursed as I realized he was right - whatever the brother's Stand was, it certainly seemed to like the shadows, and there were plenty of those bordering the stairs and the hall below us.

"Alright then, what do you recommend we do?"

Josuke's response was forgotten as he whipped around to stare at the shadows on the ceiling. "I heard something." He said quietly. "There is definitely something up there."

I peered into the darkness; I couldn't see anything, but I trusted Josuke on this one.

Standing up, the delinquent pulled out a lighter and lit it, illuminating the area enough for us to see a tiny, shadowy shape moving along the rafter. If I had blinked, I probably would have missed it.

"Something that small..." I murmured to myself. There was no way something so small had injured me and Okuyasu like that... Something felt off about all this.

"J-Josuke? Dan? What's going on?"

"We're in danger of getting killed, that's what's going on." I bluntly told him, still watching those shadows.

"W-what?! K-killed?!"

"Forget that; for now, just stick close to me." Josuke ordered, grabbing Koichi's arm and dragging him closer. Under almost any other circumstances, I would have joked about the nature of their relationship, but now was not the time.

Hiding Koichi behind his back, Josuke summoned Crazy Diamond. Having seen the pink-and-blue monstrosity's power, I felt more than comfortable letting it handle this... though, I still had a bad feeling...

The little thing popped up again, barely visible in the shadows.

"There you are!" Josuke yelled, Crazy Diamond launching itself forward to attack... only for dozens more of those little things to pop up. They looked like toy soldiers, pointing tiny weapons at us... but if they were the brother's Stand, they were freaking dangerous!

"What the hell?! There are a ton of them!" Josuke gasped before I shoved him aside... though his hand (and the lighter) were both riddled with bullet holes.

"It's like Nerves of Steel - multiple parts making up the whole!" I yelled at him as Koichi stared in horrified confusion.

Above us, all the little army men began parachuting down from the rafters. A few of them took more shots at us, blasting a small trail of holes in Josuke's ear and my arm - which stung like a _bitch, jesus christ!_

In defense, Crazy Diamond reappeared and began Stand Rushing the tiny soldiers, smashing a few of them into paste. This didn't seem to affect the rest, however.

"Like I said, many parts making up the whole thing!" I explained, Nerves of Steel moving to protect me.

 _"The boss is right - if you want to deal actual damage, you need to pulp more than a few of them!"_

The army men began marching forward as Koichi demanded to know what was going on. Before we could reply, we heard the brother's voice, as if coming through a radio.

 _"Since Okuyasu decided to meddle and save that brat, my plan's been derailed. But they won't be leaving this house, nor will they leave my Stand, Bad Company's, battlefield!"_

"Bad Company?"

"Yeah, I can see why!" I grimaced, glancing at my wounds.

 _"All units, halt!"_ They did as instructed and stopped. _"Ready, aim..."_

As one, the front row of tiny figures kneeling down as they all raised their rifles.

"Shit!" I cursed as Nerves braced itself.

 _"Fire!"_

They all opened fire at once as we all began to run. Nerves of Steel took the worst of it; I could feel hundreds of tiny, harmless taps all over my chest as my living armor tanked their shots. We had to dive out of the way as the door we'd just slammed shut behind us smashed into splinters on account of the number of new holes ventilating it.

"So... any bright ideas?" I asked as Josuke rolled to the side to avoid a line of tiny-but-powerful bullets.

"The windows! Koichi, Dan, this is the second floor, but we're gonna bust through those windows and dive out!"

"Certainly beats staying here and dying a horrible death!" I replied as Koichi gaped in shock.

Josuke, however, paused as glints of light began showing in the darkness.

"I guess I was a bit naive," he muttered to himself as small helicopters slowly emerged from the dark.

"Fuck... looks like the little guys have got air support." I said as Nerves again moved in front of me.

I was blindsided, however, when Koichi suddenly yelled, "Look out, there's a tank!"

Thankfully, Nerves of Steel managed to block the shot from hitting me as Josuke was yanked out of the way by Koichi - though I was sent stumbling back with a grunt of pain as the force dented the chestplate. Think I might have cracked a rib or two...

The ensuing barrage of missiles and shells would probably have ended my run in the Jojo-verse if Crazy Diamond hadn't appeared to counter them in a blaze of flaming, explosive glory.

"You're right, they have tanks..." Josuke murmured to himself. "Koichi, be caref- _wait, what?!_ "

I glanced back at them as Josuke looked at Koichi.

"W-what did you just say, Koichi? Can you see them?!"

My eyes widened - if he had warned Josuke about the tanks... that meant he could see them. And given what the brother said about that arrow...

"Y-yeah, I'm not sure what's going on, but I can see them."

"D-does this mean he has a Stand?" I asked, glancing back at the miniature army in front of us.

"Oh? So the little shrimp has the power to use a Stand now?"

We all stiffened as a man who could only be Okuyasu's brother spoke up, standing behind Bad Company. I scowled; while he was just barely within Nerves of Steel's range, it would also leave me defenseless against the barrage of firepower they would certainly unleash on me the moment I tried. And while I had confidence in Crazy Diamond, I honestly didn't think he could block everything...

"Well now... you've got some guts, showing yourself like that." Josuke spoke up - right before Crazy Diamond appeared and whipped its arm forward, launching a pair of nails Josuke had secretly pried from the wall at the man's head. They flew through the air - only for them to be blasted to pieces by Bad Company before they could get close to the brother.

"My Stand, Bad Company, has unbreakable defense. It's an army that won't let any invader leave alive. I'm sure you want to beat me..." He chuckled. "But I can tell you right now your Crazy Diamond's attacks will never reach me. And you..." His gaze turned to me as he smirked. "While that Stand of yours can probably reach me, I'm quite sure you are much less durable than it is."

I grit my teeth as I glared right back at him.

"Look! Don't you see my army's beautiful formation? It feels so good when they're all so beautifully together... though I'm a bit pissed off that their formation is a little off, since you killed two or three of them."

"I would have killed more if I had the chance." I grumbled.

"Well, you're certainly methodical. You came out here just to explain that?" Josuke asked.

"No. The reason I came out here is to watch _you_ , brat." He pointed his finger at Koichi.

"M-me?!"

"That's right. Koichi, was it? It seems, despite my expectations, you had the aptitude to be a Stand User."

I didn't dare mention how it was only because of Josuke that Koichi had survived; who knew what can of worms that might open? This guy could try and hold Josuke hostage to heal any victims of the arrow to make sure they get a Stand, and I had the feeling an outcome like that would probably derail the whole story.

"Make your Stand appear right now, and show me what it can do." The brother demanded. "You might have the ability that I've been looking for. If you have that ability, I'll let you live."

"B-but..." Koichi stammered, overwhelmed.

"The ability you're looking for?" Josuke glanced at our little friend. "What the hell are you after?"

"You're in no position to be asking questions, Josuke!" The brother roared; I twitched a bit as I heard a series of tiny _clicks_ coming from all the tiny army men; that sounded like thay'd switched their safeties off... if there was such a thing on those guns of theirs. "My decision to kill you and Dan hasn't changed! Be thankful you two get to live longer!"

I kept scanning the room, trying to find a way out of this, as Josuke spoke up.

"That's just great."

"Hey, what're you doing?" The brother demanded, returning to glaring at Koichi. "Bring out your Stand, brat!"

"S-Stand? I have no idea what's going on..."

"Like we said, we'll explain later." I told him, still staring down the miniature army. "For now, see if you can bring it out, even a little."

"Oh? It's your first time? I see. Fine! Josuke, Dan, show him how to make a Stand appear!" The brother yelled.

"Huh?" Josuke and I asked in sync, blinking in surprise.

"Crazy Diamond's Range is less than one meter, and Nerves of Steel can't move without Dan being turned into swiss cheese. If his ability can compensate for either of yours, you might be able to escape my Bad Company."

"True." Josuke said with a smirk. "It'd be great it if was a Stand that could kick your ass."

"Seconded." I chimed in.

"Alright, getting your Stand to come out is easy, Koichi. You just need to feel like you want to protect yourself, or you want to kick his ass. The rest is just instinct."

"That's how you do it?" I asked, glancing over. "I summon mine by picturing what it looks like."

Josuke ignored me and kept talking. "Do that, and a Stand unique to your mentality should come out."

"W-wait! I can't understand all this out of nowhere!"

"You don't understand?" The brother asked. "Then I guess we'll just have to put you in a situation that makes you!"

Both Josuke and I tensed, watching to see what move his army would make.

"Do it, Green Beret!"

My eyes snapped back to Koichi when he yelled in pain, a small spray of blood erupting from a fresh wound on his cheek. I felt something in the air shift - right before a green-speckled egg appeared in the air above Koichi, hitting the ground with a dull _thud_.

"Is... is that it?" I asked, staring blankly.

"H-hey, Koichi, try moving it."

"Move what?" Koichi asked, his eyes still closed as he winced in pain from the cuts in his cheek.

"Your Stand! Try and do something with it!" I told him, still staring at the egg.

"S-Stand? Wait, I made this appear?!"

"What happens after this? What kind of abilities does this egg-shaped thing have?"

"Abilities? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this is all I can do! This is it!"

"I'm gonna call bullshit on that, but hopefully you can figure it out fast." I spoke up, glancing back at the brother, who was watching the egg with a calculating look.

"That's enough! That's all I need to know!" The brother suddenly began shouting. "All units, battle positions!"

"Shit! Koichi, either get that thing moving or get it out of here!" I cursed. "If that thing breaks, so will you!"

"I-I don't know how!"

" _Commence attack!_ "

Josuke reacted first, Crazy Diamond appearing with a shout to knock the egg aside, sending Koichi flying as he followed after his Stand, followed by a Stand Cry and another flurry of blows to try and block all the tiny bullets heading our way. Nerves of Steel did its best to act like my shield, partially phasing through me to ensure the best coverage.

It didn't do much good as the two of us were thrown through the wall behind us from the sheer force of the attacks.

"Owww..." I groaned as I stood back up; while Nerves of Steel made for a good shield, it certainly didn't make for a good pillow.

" _Sorry boss, but it was this or potential impalement._ "

"Hey, Okuyasu's big bro." Josuke called out, sitting up painfully. "If you're going to use an attack flashy enough to destroy the house, I'm gonna do the same."

He stood up, Crazy Diamond appearing beside him as the brother began to walk forward. "Let's make this _just great._ "

Nerves of Steel and I both got up and prepared to fight, all four fists raised.

"Josuke Higashikata... is it true that you hate it when anyone says something insulting about your hair?"

My eyes widened. "Oh, shit..."

"Why don't you try and insult it? Just to test that out." Josuke said, his glare magnifying itself.

"No, there's no need. Because I'm going to declare that I'll blow off the head that your hair sits on, before moving on to your friend. Because if you're dead, you can't heal him!"

I tensed up at that.

"First, my Bad Company going to shoot your legs. You won't be able to run away then. Next, we'll damage your arm. Then you won't be able to guard yourself. And then, I declare I'm going to blow your brains out, along with your hair. Should Dan try to interfere, I'll fill him with holes."

"I see. That's a flawless plan..." Josuke smirked. "...if you ignore the fact that it's impossible!"

"I'm very methodical, you see." The brother continued. "If I say I'll do something in a certain order, I will. That's what a declaration is."

Behind the man, I saw Koichi start to stand up and begin sneaking toward the man while his back was turned. He froze up in terror, however, when Okuyasu's brother turned around to look right at him.

"I'm very interested in your Stand, so I won't kill you just yet." He declared before backhanding Koichi away from him.

This seemed to be the catalyst we'd all been waiting for, as Josuke roared " _You bastard!_ " before charging forward.

" _All units, charge!_ "

The space was suddenly filled with tiny bullets and missiles; despite my wish to try and help Josuke, I was practically pinned against the wall as Nerves of Steel protected me. I could feel the bullets pinging off my Stand's body, dozens every moment, as Josuke continued walking forward, Crazy Diamond throwing punches at a crazy rate to protect its user.

"Just like Moses, who parted the Red Sea and walked across its floor, I'm gonna make my way through this army and beat you down!" Josuke declared as he continued his approach. This declaration, however, was met with laughter.

"You fool! My plan is going exactly as I have declared!"

The next step of Josuke's caused a small explosion, sending him to his knees from the attack. I hadn't seen what happened, so what the hell did this guy just do?!

"First, damage to your legs!" He crowed. "And now, Apaches, fire your missiles!"

The helicopters followed his orders and launches several missiles each. Several were slapped away by Crazy Diamond, but several that had lagged behind suddenly impacted the Stand's arm, the damage transferring to Josuke as his own awm was practically disabled.

" _Josuke!_ " I yelled as I lunged forward, the hail of bullets having subsided for a moment. Unfortunately enough, I fell victim to the same thing Josuke had moments before - a landmine, cleverly placed by one of the army men while I was protecting myself. I dropped to the ground as Nerves positioned itself in front of me, still trying to protect me however it could.

The brother began to gloat as he stood over Josuke. "First your legs, then your arm. It feels so good when things go as I've declared. Now let's see if you can stay in one piece as my Bad Company fires all its shells, missiles, and rounds into that damaged arm of yours! You've lost, Josuke Higashikata!"

I felt something snap as I thrust my hand forward, mentally commanding Nerves of Steel to separate; the chestplate, the largest piece, stayed behind to act as my shield while the rest shot forward and towards the brother. The brother's eyes widened as Bad Company's bullets failed to shoot down the projectiles, before a steel boot smashed into his shin, breaking the bone before the other pieces began to swarm around him like a tornado of glinting metal and brute force. Each hit caused him to jerk in pain, but he somehow maintained his composure enough to have Bad Company turn its guns toward me. I flinched back the tiniest bit, knowing what was to come, but kept up the assault.

It wasn't until a pair of missiles - the same missiles that impacted Crazy Diamond's arm - fixed themselves in midair and began to speed toward the blonde man, whose eyes widened even further as I called back all the pieces of my Stand, that I knew this fight was finished.

The resulting explosion blew out the remaining windows in the room, sending glass shards raining down into the street below. The wall behind us had a large hole, courtesy of the earlier attacks that Crazy Diamond had deflected.

"Did you forget?" Josuke asked the charred and broken form of the brother. "My Crazy Diamond can repair what's been destroyed."

"Not to mention, Nerves of Steel isn't just a single being." I added, said Stand helping me to... well, stand. "It's a group acting as a single unit... just like your Bad Company."

* * *

 **It it isn't blatantly obvious yet, my plan for this story is posting one chapter per episode - though I may add a little filler here and there, I'm not sure yet.**

 **As for the lateness of this chapter, it was mainly because I kept getting distracted by schoolwork and my piece-of-junk computer kept crapping out on me, which made both writing and watching the source material rather hard.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, What do you guys think of the story so far? Let me know! I want some reviews!**

 **Also, I rewrote the first chapter; feel free to check it out!**

* * *

"Okuyasu's brother was a pretty great danger." Josuke commented as we stood over the young man's body.

"No shit." I grumbled; Crazy Diamond had healed the holes in my arm, but that didn't mean they hadn't hurt. "So... what now?"

"W-wait! What about the bow and arrow that sh-shot me?!"

"The bow and arrow? Looks like Okuyasu's bro hid them somewhere."

"Then we'll just have to find it, won't we?" I asked as Nerves of Steel appeared, nodding.

" _We're up to the task, boss. Let's go room-by-room!_ "

As my Stand broke apart and began rummaging through all the closets and cabinets in the room, Josuke looked back at Keicho's body.

"You know, I could have sworn they mentioned having a dad around."

"If he didn't show up when the fight was going down, then I'd assume he's either out of town or dead." I bluntly told them as Nerves reported no findings. "Now then, if you guys want to help me _search_..."

"Actually, I took some pretty major damage, so let's just leave for today..."

"Hell no!" I said, turning to glare at Josuke. "That bow and arrow is what gave that bastard - Angelo, was it? - a Stand! Koichi got lucky as hell that Crazy Diamond could fix him up; and given how casual this idiot-" I kicked Keicho's unconscious form, "-was about Koichi dying, I'm led to believe he's done this plenty of times to other people - and not all of them lived through it! So _no_ , I'm not leaving until that thing is far, far away from here, or crushed into _splinters!_ "

Koichi wholeheartedly agreed, and volunteered to help me search. Josuke stared at us for a few minutes before sighing. "Fine. Let's hurry up and snap that bow and arrow in half, then get the hell out of here."

We didn't find anything on this floor, so we moved up to the next one, reasoning the first floor could be checked on our way out. The stairs up to the third floor were rickety, but thankfully held our weight.

The third floor turned out to be more of an attic than anything, but it was certainly given a good find, seeing as how Koichi began telling us that he could see the bow and arrow inside, hanging on the far wall.

"Alright then, let's-"

I was cut off as strange sounds, like shifting metal and strange groans, began to emanate from the room. I scowled and summoned Nerves of Steel again - no way in hell was I getting ambushed again! Fool me once, and all that.

"Something's definitely in there."

There was a rattling sound, the sound of metal on metal.

"Oh gee, you think?" I asked sarcastically.

"Is something chained up in there?" Josuke asked, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"I-is it a dog?" Koichi asked, looking scared. "Those sounds can't be from a human... It sounds like an animal..."

"Whatever it is, I sure hope it's friendly..." I grumbled as I edged closer to the door. It was Koichi, however, who reached out to open it up, revealing the darkness inside the room. The light from the hallway lit up the room, and revealed a chain lying on the floor - before it was suddenly yanked away from the light with another animalistic grunt from whatever was inside there, causing the little guy to flinch.

"I-I'm scared, what should we do!?"

"Hey, you were the one to get us this far!" I commented, raising an eyebrow as Nerves - despite lacking eyes - somehow managed a disapproving look.

"Yeah, but..."

"Look, we're just gonna have to do this." Josuke told us. "Listen up: Koichi, you're gonna kick the door in as hard as you can on the count of three. Dan, you're gonna make sure that thing in there is occupied, and then we can finish it off if it's hostile. Alright?"

"A-alright..."

"Got it."

"Then let's do this. One... two... _three!_ "

Koichi stood up and lashed out at the door with his foot - only for a green, wart-covered hand to reach around and grab his ankle, causing him to shriek in surprise and horror. Nerves lashed out immediately with a few punches, managing to remove the hand... from the beast's arm. The action showered us both with green slime, causing the little guy to retch a bit

I didn't have time to consider the disgustingness of it all, given my bloodlust at the moment; while Josuke and Crazy Diamond pried the fingers off of Koichi's leg, Nerves and I rushed inside to confront the monster, which had retreated to the far corner. We paused, however, when we saw the stump begin to shift... then grow.

"Fuck... whatever this thing is, it can heal!"

"Wh-what the heck is that creature?!" Josuke demanded. "I can't believe that thing has been living near my house!"

"Looks like you finally saw the thing you weren't supposed to see."

We all whipped around to find a wounded Keicho, beaten and bloody, leaning against another door, closer to the- _shit!_ The bow and arrow!

Keicho continued talking as he grabbed the items off the wall.

"That thing right there... is our dad." My mind ground to a halt.

"What the fuck?!" I screeched, pointing a finger. "You mean to tell me this... _abomination_ is your father!?"

"I want to find a Stand user for my dad's sake." Keicho continued, turning back to face us. "That's why I can't let anyone else have this bow and arrow, or destroy them! No matter what!"

Josuke considered that for a moment. "Is it some kind of disease?" He asked after a few seconds.

"I hope not." I muttered, looking at the toad-skinned creature in the corner. "I really don't want to become... _that_."

"Disease? No. My dad's perfectly healthy, and he has an appetite..."

"In what world is _that_ considered 'perfectly healthy'?!" I demanded. Keicho ignored me again.

"...but he just keeps moaning, and doesn't recognize me as his son."

"So, you were looking for a Stand user to fix your dad." Josuke concluded.

"Fix?" Keicho sneered. "You gonna fix him for me? That's not it either." His grip on the bow and arrow tightened... followed by tears beginning to slide down his cheeks, much to my surprise.

"It's the opposite." He told us, tears still flowing. "I'm looking for a Stand user who'll kill my dad."

" _Seriously?!_ " I practically screamed.

"Dad won't die, no matter what. Whether you smash his head in, or grind up his body, or rip things off, nothing works! I just... I just want to let him die normally. I swore when I was a kid that I'd do anything to make that happen... and to do that, I need this bow and arrow. Otherwise, my dad will probably live like this forever."

Keicho lifted his head to look at us again.

"Because my dad had some guy named DIO's cells implanted in his head, so he ended up like this!"

"Wait, DIO? Did you just say DIO?!" Josuke gasped. "That's the guy Jotaro talked about..."

I, meanwhile, stared at the green creature, still huddled in the corner. So, this guy was one of DIO's minions? Given what I'd seen of said minions in Stardust Crusaders, I couldn't help but feel like this poor bastard had gotten what he'd deserved. Never mind the circumstances, why the hell would he follow a megalomaniac like DIO?!

The green fuck slowly opened up a chest sitting near the corner as Keicho continued.

"Let me tell you a bit about the past... Josuke Higashikata."

Josuke and Koichi listened intently while I slowly crept closer to the toad-man as he rooted around inside the chest. What the hell was he doing? There wasn't anything in there... not that I could see, anyway...

"...This is all he does, all day long." Keicho was just finishing up his story when I tuned back in. Keicho's 'dad' was tossing out a few small objects with reckless abandon; a pencil, some scrap paper, and the like. Guess it was at the bottom where I could see it. "Every single day... day after day, for ten years, he uselessly scratches around that box of junk. If I take the box away from him, he just cries for days... it pisses me off. Watching him just makes me hate the idea of _living!_ "

He grabbed the chain around the creature's neck and yanked it, dragging the thing out of the box and hoisting it up, as if hanging from a chain-link noose.

"How many times have I told you not to make a mess?!" He demanded, shaking his 'father' back and forth before cocking back his arm and slamming his fist into its face. The green-skinned freak hit the floor right in front of me, causing me to back away in disgust. Keicho, meanwhile, moved to stand over it.

"He can be obedient if I discipline him," he lifted his leg and smashed his shoe into its face, sending blood flying into the air, "but he never stops digging around in _that fucking box!_ " He lifted his leg and did it again, and again, and again.

"Hey! You're the one who needs to stop!" Josuke demanded. "He's your dad!"

Keicho gave one last stomp before finally stopping. "Yeah, that's right. He's my father by blood. But right now, he's as much my father as he's not. He's a man who sold his soul to DIO, and he got what he deserved."

Well that's... a convoluted way to put it. But at least _someone_ agrees with me, even if they're an enemy.

"Yet, on the other hand, do you know how it feels, not being able to finish him off because he's your dad? That's exactly why I want him to die normally." Tears shimmered in his eyes as he looked at us. "Once he's finally dead, my life can finally begin!"

My gaze snapped back to the little monster, crawling back toward the box as its face healed. It scrabbled with what seemed to be some scraps of oddly-colored paper, attempting to... arrange them?

"Hey... Josuke. Take a look at this."

"Damnit, I told you to stop that!" Keicho roared, lifting his leg and kicking his 'father' again. "It pisses me off!"

"Hey! That's enough!" Josuke roared right back, stepping forward. Keicho snarled.

"I can't let you have this Bow and Arrow... no matter what!"

I swiftly summoned Nerves of Steel as our enemy prepared for battle... though I paused as Josuke rushed past me.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" He yelled as he ran for the box. "I'll worry about the Bow and Arrow later! Right now... that box has my attention!"

Crazy Diamond appeared behind the delinquent, lashing out with a " **Dora!** " and smashing the side of the box open. The fragments all began to glow as they slowed down before abruptly beginning to reverse direction and piece themselves back together. The side of the box was fixed within moments... but the paper scraps were what he seemed to be focusing on.

The scraps all slid together, arranging themselves into a rectangular shape (minus a few small slivers here and there) - and I realized it was a photo.

A photo... of a woman, a man, and what could only be a young Keicho and Okuyasu.

Keicho's eyes widened as he stared at the picture; Crazy Diamond vanished without a sound as 'Mr. Nijimura' lifted the picture up to his ugly mug to stare at it... before bursting into tears. I blinked in surprise as it sobbed over the picture of its past self with its family.

"Well... that's both heartwarming and somewhat disgusting." I muttered to myself, too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"A family photo... s-so there _was_ a reason..." Koichi breathed. "There was a reason for the behavior he repeated for ten years... He was looking for the photo of his sons at the time! He might not understand what's going on right now..." The poor bastard kept bawling his eyes out. "...but deep down, he still has his memories!"

Keicho grit his teeth as he stared at the blubbering form of his 'father' before he, very slowly, dropped the chain he was holding.

The blob of flesh kept crying as we all stared, both at it and each other. But eventually, the silence was broken - not by more sobs, but by Josuke.

"Instead of looking for a Stand to kill him, if you'll try to find one that can cure him... I don't mind helping you out."

I glanced over at him, but deigned to accept the offer, should Keicho go for it. This blob-thing was gross, but if we could turn it back into a real person...

"But first... you'll have to hand over that Bow and Arrow. I'm gonna snap them in half."

I blinked as I was snapped back to the reason we'd come here in the first place. Right, we had to get the thing to destroy it - how could I have forgotten? Keicho even mentioned it when Josuke fixed the picture, for Christ's sake!

Keicho looked between Josuke's extended hand and his face, then back at his hand, then back at his face... then took a step back.

"You planning to run?" Josuke asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it." I spoke up at last, directing Nerves of Steel to stand behind the teen to block his potential escape. Keicho's expression darkened before another voice came out.

"Big Bro, let's stop this."

My head whipped around so fast I could have sworn I'd gotten whiplash.

" _Okuyasu!_ " We all called out in unison, staring at the not-so-intelligent delinquent.

"Come on... let's just stop all of this, okay?" Okuyasu asked his brother, staring at him and ignoring the rest of us as he slowly began to approach his brother. "Dad might get cured, right? At least... if his body doesn't go back to normal, maybe... his mind and memories will go back to how they used to be. Right?" Okuyasu asked desperately, reaching out and grasping the bow.

Keicho seemed frozen, staring down at his brother's hand on the weapon... before scowling angrily.

"Okuyasu, what do you think you're holding?!"

"Big Bro..."

"Out of the way, Okuyasu!" Keicho demanded. "I can't turn back anymore, no matter what happens! I've already killed so many people in this city with this Bow and Arrow! Besides... I don't even think of you as my younger brother anymore... and since you're not my little brother, I can kill you _without hesitation!_ "

I scowled myself and had Nerves of Steel sucker punch Keicho from behind, causing him to stumble as he dropped the bow, though he kept his grip on the arrow. Nerves of Steel's left hand shot out and snagged it while the rest of the pieces prepared to fight as members of Bad Company began pouring out of nooks and crannies in the room. Koichi "Eeep"ed and backed away as Josuke... looked at the roof?

"Hey!" He called out, staring at the skylight. "Do you have any relatives here besides your dad?"

"Why the fuck do you care?!" I yelled, Nerves of Steel backing up towards me with the bow in its grasp.

"N-no! There's only the three of us!" Okuyasu called out, glancing back as The Hand prepared to defend its user.

The sound of crackling electricity brought our little skirmish to a halt, and drew our attention to a wall outlet right behind me... in time to see a short, yellow, bird-like Stand emerge from it.

" _What the fuck!?_ " I yelped, bringing Nerves of Steel to bear against it - only to scream in agony when it punched a hole through its chestplate, voltage crackling as it punctured and electrocuted both my Stand and, by proxy, me.

Nerves of Steel abruptly faded as my world went black; the last things I noticed was the sound of the bow hitting the floor, and the smell of charred flesh.

* * *

Josuke swore as Dan fell backwards and hit the floor, charred, smoking, and with a new hole in his chest. The avian-esque Stand, the bow now in its grasp turned its attention to Keicho... or rather, the arrow in his hand.

Keicho swore and screamed "Stop spacing out, you dumbass!" as he punched his brother aside, saving it from the Stand's charge - followed by the Stand's arm punching through his chest to emerge out of his back.

"I think I'll be taking this Bow and Arrow, Keicho Nijimura!" It cackled, grabbing hold of the arrow with the same hand as the bow as it dragged the blonde-haired man towards the outlet. "I, who got shot by this bow and arrow and had my Stand ability awakened!"

"You think..." Keicho ground out "...that... someone like you... can handle... this Bow and Arrow?"

"Keicho Nijimura!" The Stand laughed. "You said Stands depend on one's mentality, didn't you? Well, I've grown! How else do you think my Stand, Red Hot Chili Pepper, grew this much?!"

" _Bad Company!_ " Keicho called out desperately, his army reappearing and preparing to attack - only for RHCP to yell "Shut up!" and begin forcing electricity through his body.

Before their eyes, Keicho's body began to dissolve into sparks and electricity as he was brought into the outlet.

"B-Big Bro!" Okuyasu screamed, reaching out for him.

"Don't touch me!" Keicho warned through his grunts of agony. "You'll be dragged in too! D-damnit... it's taking the Bow and Arrow! Grr... Okuyasu! _You were always holding me back!_ " He yelled angrily before screaming in pain and being fully sucked into the outlet.

Okuyasu stared at the outlet as Josuke warred with himself before making his choice and darting forward to heal Dan's wounds once again. Koichi hyperventilated - one of his friends had just been perforated and electrocuted, an enemy had just been turned into a mass of electricity and dragged into an outlet, and the Bow and Arrow had been stolen.

"Okuyasu!" Josuke barked as the healing glow of Crazy Diamond's power surrounded Dan, snapping the dumb teen out of his shock. "Get up to the roof, see if you can spot where that bastard went!"

Frantically nodding Okuyasu climbed a dresser before having The Hand help toss him toward the skylight, smashing through it as he began his search. Josuke, meanwhile, was preoccupied with Dan, whose wounds had healed... but he _wasn't waking up_. He grit his teeth and leaned down to listen.

He sagged in relief as he heard the heartbeat in Dan's chest beating strong. He was alive; just unconscious.

With that done, he ordered Koichi to keep an eye on the young man before following Okuyasu's footsteps.

He found the delinquent standing still on the roof, tears streaming down the face as he stared at a charred corpse laying across the power lines - a corpse that he identified moments later as Keicho.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"My Big Bro... deserved to end up like that..." He said, his shoulders shaking. "There was no way he could have lived a decent life. That was his fate. But... in the end... my Big Bro... he defended me, didn't he?" He turned to face his fellow Stand user. "Josuke, you saw it, right?"

"...Yeah. I definitely saw it."


End file.
